Bavarians hold their nerve: 75-74 win in Villeurbanne

The third win of the season and thus the connection to the middle pack of the EuroLeague has been achieved. The Bayern basketball team won the traditionally difficult away game at France's champion ASVEL Villeurbanne 75-74 in front of 5,600 spectators. A huge defensive play by Andreas Obst and a final offensive rebound by Niels Giffey decided the thriller in Lyon in the final seconds. The top scorer was captain Vladimir Lucic with 13 points.

The FCBB - still without Zipser, Walden, George and Sisko - started well and  led by 17 points in the second quarter. Obst sunk four three-pointers at the break, and his team controlled the rebounds (35-34 in the end). A small collapse of the offense in the third quarter (20-11) took away the Munich lead. In the last minutes, the game against standings neighbor Lyon turned into a game of nerves, which the team around top star Nando De Colo (15) lost despite a last shot to win. The Bavarians hit 15 of 16 free throws.

Bayern travels on to the Côte d'Azur on Thursday, and in Monaco on Friday (19:00./MagentaSport) they will face the 2021 EuroCup winners, who remain in the top flight with 6-3 wins despite a 96-93 loss to league leading, Fenerbahce. The next home game is the BBL rivalry game on Sunday afternoon against Wuerzburg (Nov. 27, 15:00.).

Points per quarter Bayern - Lyon: 25-15, 17-18, 11-20, 21-22

Stats: Two-point shooting: 42 % (FCBB) // 37 % (Lyon); Three-point shooting: 42 % // 52 %; Free-throw shooting: 94 % // 75 %; Rebounds:  35 // 34; Assists 12 // 15; Turnovers:  13 // 12

Quotes:

Andrea Trinchieri: "We had a very good 15 minutes at the beginning, defended well, moved the ball well in attack. After that, I don't think we had the discipline to do what was necessary. We started with individual play and you have to understand that because several of our players have never played in the EuroLeague. I understand that, but that was just the problem. So we missed going into halftime with a 15 or 18 point lead. The third quarter for us was tragic, mentally and physically little came, we were passive. It thus became a new game, also because Asvel defended well. We were sloppy, often lost the ball. In the last minutes it was very hard, but we found the way to get the momentum again. (...) Obasohan's throw could have killed us, but we then mentally stayed in the game. (...) The best thing today is the result, but there is still a lot of work to do and a lot of video clips to show our play. But when you win, it's easier for a coach to correct things."     

Vladimir Lucic: "This is an important win against a physical, talented team. I think we had some great moments in the first half, later we got nervous. But the most important thing is: after losing some games in the last seconds, we secured this win today. Now we have to prepare for the next game here in France. Defensively, they played their game, put pressure all over the court, were physical and got the confidence for the offense where they hit some tough shots. But in the end, we kind of pulled out an important win for us."

Augustine Rubit: "The key was that we stayed together as a team. We played good defense overall. This win is very important, we don't want to let too much gap in front. But our team chemistry is right and now we move on to the next tough game."

Game Recap: 

Cassius Winston started alongside Elias Harris and Niklas Wimberg who were back in the squad after missing time over the flu. The first quarter was characterized by the initiative of Lucic and the perfect shooting performance of Obst. At the beginning of the second quarter Asvel noticeably intensified their aggressiveness on defense and the finishes became more difficult. Jaramaz's three-pointer made it 32-20 and calmed the situation in the Astroballe Arena. Obst with his fourth bucket and Lucic with a three-pointer increased the lead to 40-23 (16th) - the highest lead thus far. But De Colo led Asvel's counterattack and  a 10-0 run also brought the crowd back in the game for the French.

Rubit's free throws a big part of the win

The FCBB took very good care of the ball until the middle of the third quarter, running well on offense until then. But the mistakes now increased and the French defended well, coming close to 49-46 via their center Fall (28th). Mathews then scored the equalizer at 49-49 at the end of a 12-0 run. Munich's three-point quota dropped, and in the crunch time of the last quarter the lead changed with almost every attack. The guests scored from the line and Nick Weiler-Babb took a lead with a shot from distance - 64-62 (36th).

However, De Colo also scored and followed up with free throws and took a 71-66 lead with less than three minutes on the clock. Bayern fought and game their everything, with Giffey drilling a three-pointer. But a wild three-pointer by Obasohan with the shot clock expiring caused Munich's horror (74-73/40th). Two free throws by Augustine Rubit were the last points before Obst and Giffey had their important plays on defense and offense respectively. Fortunately, a last turnover by Bayern had no consequences, and the Munich team threw up its arms in relief.

Photos: Stickel